Crown Hill Walking Tour Answers

The following questions and suggestions were raised at Mayor McGinn’s walking tour of Crown Hill. The mayor’s responses to these questions are listed below.

• Signage for parking on NW 90th (off of 15th Ave NW) needs to be addressed
• What is the paving schedule for Crown Hill roads?
• Holman Road median is a highly dangerous crossing for cars, pedestrians and bikes.
• A gate on 17th Ave N abutting the North end of Whitman Middle School is closed off.
• Sidewalks are in poor condition and there is an overall lack of sidewalks in the Crown Hill neighborhood.
• Trees and ivy should be pruned along Holman St. because it is obstructing the view to street signs.
• The alley on 17th and 90th Ave NW across the street from Whitman Middle School has two parallel U shape posts that is an impediment for strollers and bikes.
• Suggestion that the City disconnect all the downspouts post going out to the streets and find a way to put them on private property.
• Placement of speed bumps to slow traffic down on 13th Ave NW.

Signage for parking on NW 90th (off of 15th Ave NW) needs to be addressed.  This street is not an arterial. The new signs are for 4 hour parking back in angle only, however, the community stressed that this makes cars head into oncoming traffic.

Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT) preference is to install back-in angle parking instead of head-in angle parking.  The last research on accident history in the 1970s shows a 3-1 ratio of reported accidents related to head-in parking spaces versus back-in.  This research demonstrates that back-in angle parking is safer than head-in.  Factors that contribute to increased safety for back-in angle parking include:

• Traffic is already stopped when a driver is backing into a parking space, rather than backing out into a moving traffic lane when visibility is limited.
• When leaving a parking space it is easier to drive into a travel lane than back a vehicle out of a space into a travel lane.
• Bicyclists are better able to avoid a vehicle backing into a parking space than a vehicle backing out of a space into a bicyclist’s path.
• The time required to back into an angle space is less than the time to park parallel or to back out of an angle stall, reducing traffic delays.

You can contact Julie Erickson, Acting Parking Management Supervisor, SDOT Parking Operations Section at julie.erickson@seattle.gov or (206) 684-5092 if you have further questions.

What is the paving schedule for Crown Hill roads?

Chip Seal of Residential Streets: Parts of the Crown Hill area of NW Ballard are being considered for inclusion in the resurfacing by the Chip Seal program in summer 2011. This is still under consideration; not a definite commitment and is based on funding availability. The Crown Hill area is one of several that are due to be resurfaced in SDOT’s 10 year cycle of resurfacing by chip seal.

Repaving of Arterials: Additionally, there are several repaving projects in the area of Crown Hill that are scheduled through the Bridging the Gap levy.

• N/NW 85^th (From 15^th Ave NW to I-5 Ramps) in 2011-2012
• Greenwood Ave N (from N 73^rd to N 85^th) in 2013
• N 105^th St & N Northgate Way (from Greenwood Ave N to 1^st Ave NE) is scheduled for repaving in 2013.

SDOT repairs the busiest streets first, taking into account condition, cost, transit, volume of traffic, and several other criteria. You can visit the Web at http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/BridgingtheGap.htm. for more planned projects in the city.  You can also report potholes and other maintenance needs by calling the SDOT ROAD line at (206) 684-ROAD (7623) or using the on-line form at http://www.seattle.gov/pothole.  We respond promptly to these requests, usually within 72 hours.

Holman Road median is a highly dangerous crossing for cars, pedestrians and bikes.

This issue has been recognized as a part of the Walkable Crown Hill Project.  The goal for the Walkable Crown Hill Project is to create a more pedestrian friendly community on Crown Hill.  There is the possibility to improve the pedestrian crossing area with a permanent concrete curb with an elevated pedestrian landing adjacent to a new median.  Holman Street and 15^th Avenue is identified in the Pedestrian Master Plan as a Tier-3 (top 40-60 percent priority) crossing in a Tier-1 (top 1-20 percent priority) area.

A specific treatment/fix has not been identified after Traffic Operations investigation and as such it is not currently on the 2011 work plan for pedestrian crossing improvements.  We have also reviewed the collision history at this street section and it is extremely low, 2 in 3 years.  Due to the City’s budget constraints and backlog of critical projects, there is no current funding to improve Holman Road. Please contact Reiner Blanco, P.E. at (206) 233-0033 or walkandbike@seattle.gov if you have more questions.

A gate on 17^th Ave N abutting the North end of Whitman Middle School is closed off.

Thank you for sharing with me your interest in getting additional access to Whitman Middle School’s parking area through a gate that is locked during some of the school’s athletic field programming hours.  I empathize with your interest in having good access to the fields.  My children play soccer at Whitman Middle School and I drive a Honda minivan to get them there.

I asked Dennis Cook at Seattle Parks & Recreation to work to address your concerns and he is working on a resolution to this. He can be reached at dennis.cook@seattle.gov or (206) 684-7094.

Seattle Public Schools does have a final say on this issue as they are a separate entity from the City of Seattle and I do not have authority over Seattle Public Schools staff or its programming.  Dennis is also in contact with Ms. Eleanor Lockett of the School District’s Building Rentals department who handles access to this area.  I am encouraged that a positive resolution can be reached within the week.  You may also contact Eleanor at (206) 252-0640.

Sidewalks are in poor condition and there is an overall lack of sidewalks in the Crown Hill neighborhood.

SDOT has multiple avenues for constructing new sidewalks within the Sidewalk Development Program, Neighborhood Projects Fund, and Capital Improvement Projects.  The sidewalk program uses the Pedestrian Master Plan to identify projects.  The Plan emphasizes areas where there is the greatest need for pedestrian improvements; for instance, high volume streets with multiple destinations to walk to and streets with barriers in the existing sidewalk system. Approximately 10 percent of the locations in Seattle that lack sidewalks are within high-priority areas identified in the Pedestrian Master Plan.

These locations will be considered first, and only one of these locations is within the boundaries of the Crown Hill residential urban village – the east side of 15^th Ave NW extending north from NW 90^th St to NW 96^th St.  This location has not yet been evaluated for feasibility and is not yet actively programmed into the sidewalk program.   According to the Walkable Crown Hill Streetscapes Improvement & Traffic Calming Toolkit, the neighborhood’s priority would be to upgrade the existing sidewalks on the west side of 15^th Avenue NW between NW 85^th and NW 105^th Streets.  Given that sidewalks exist there, making upgrades to them would not be within the scope of the Sidewalk Development Program, but instead could be considered for Sidewalk Repair Program or the Neighborhood Projects Fund (see below).

The Neighborhood Projects Fund funds projects submitted by the community.  Projects are not exclusively limited to sidewalk construction / repair, but a significant portion of proposals are for pedestrian improvements.  Crown Hill residents have submitted several proposals to the NPF.  Two important sections of them have recently been selected for construction in 2011/2012 which is 13^th Ave NW between NW 90^th Street & Holman Road NW, and NW 90^th Street between 13^th – 14^th Ave NW.  Crown Hill residents have been successful in getting other projects built in the area through this program, including traffic calming on 12th Avenue NW between NW 85-87th Streets in 2003.

SDOT also gets many requests for sidewalk repair assistance.  Thanks to voters who passed the Bridging the Gap levy in 2006, we have resources to make spot sidewalk repairs throughout the city of Seattle, though these resources are limited.  Spending is prioritized to where we can improve sidewalks in areas with high pedestrian volumes, adjacent to city and public transportation facilities, and where we can leverage with other projects to get more for your tax dollars. Seattle Municipal Code Title 15.72 requires the abutting property owner to make sidewalk repairs. SDOT Street Use enforces this code through serving a Notice of Violation when warranted.

As a make safe measure, SDOT will place a temporary asphalt shim when notified about sidewalk defects.  Citizens can let us know about problem spots by either calling (206) 684-7623 or using the on line reporting form at http://www.seattle.gov/pothole.

Community groups are encouraged to apply for Neighborhood Street Funds which are available for maintenance projects that have been prioritized by District Neighborhood Councils in collaboration with SDOT.  Your Neighborhood Service Center Coordinator can give you more information on the timeline for nominating a project.

Trees and ivy should be pruned along Holman St. because it is obstructing the view to street signs.

On August 25, 2010 SDOT crews spent 17 hours trimming ivy from base of trees and sidewalks. On September 29, 2010 crews spent an additional 60 work hours pruning for sidewalk clearance, cleared ivy from sidewalk/street on the East side of Holman Road NW.  In January 2011, crews were on site and pruned trees to improve sidewalk clearance on the east side of Holman Road from 15th Ave NW to 13th Ave NW.

Darren Morgan, Field Operations Manager is the point of contact for Urban Forestry.  If there is a specific concern for a sign issues please let us know that location.  He can be reached at (206) 684-0485, or darren.morgan@seattle.gov.

The alley on 17th and 90th Ave NW across the street from Whitman Middle School has two parallel U shape posts that is an impediment for strollers and bikes.

The Seattle Department of Transportation and I agree with you that removing this barrier is a great idea!  SDOT will be replacing the two parallel U shaped posts with bollards or similar devices in 2011.  This will create a more bike friendly alley which will also be more accessible to disabled pedestrians, strollers, etc.  You can contact Luke Korpi, P.E. at luke.korpi@seattle.gov or (206) 684-5069 with your questions.

Suggestion that the City disconnect all the downspouts post going out to the streets and find a way to put them on private property.

Crown Hill is, for the most part, on a combined sewer system in which sewerage and stormwater flow in the same pipes.  Some homes have directed their downspouts into the side sewer, which is the pipe that connects a home to the main sewer line.  The side sewer is the property of the homeowner, not Seattle Public Utilities.  As such, SPU does not spend any money to maintain private side sewers.  Because the combined sewer system is designed to hold stormwater, we cannot legally redirect storm water runoff on private property unless that runoff presents a hazard to safety or property.

The City does have an interest in redirecting stormwater from the combined system, however.  To that end, we have created the Rainwise program, which reimburses property owners who wish to build rain gardens, which accept rainwater and allow it to seep into the ground over time. You can learn more about the Rainwise program by calling the Garden Hotline at (206) 633-0224, or by following this link.

For more information on residential side sewers, please contact the Department of Planning and Development’s Sewer and Drainage Review Desk at (206) 684-5362 or at sidesewerinfo@seattle.gov.

Placements of speed bumps to slow traffic down on 13th Ave NW.

Through the Neighborhood Traffic Calming program, 13^th Avenue NE would be a candidate at this location.  The program has been developed to assist neighborhoods in addressing speeding and other traffic safety concerns on our residential streets.  This is a cooperative effort between our residents, SDOT, and the Seattle Police Department.  The program is designed to raise safety awareness for those motorists using the street and seek appropriate solutions for increasing traffic safety.  Additional information about the program is available here.

To get involved in the program, residents should attend one of SDOT’s upcoming neighborhood traffic safety meetings, which are hour-long evening meetings held monthly in locations that rotate throughout the city.  The meeting includes a presentation by SDOT staff with a brief overview of different traffic calming options, what steps a neighborhood must take to be considered for traffic calming, criteria staff use to prioritize projects, and possible funding sources.  The upcoming meeting schedule is available here.

Please contact Christina Legazpi, Assistant Civil Engineering Specialist, in SDOT Neighborhood Traffic Operations group at (206) 684-5102 or christina.legazpi@seattle.gov.

Posted by: Nathaniel Merrill